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orthostichy

American  
[awr-thos-ti-kee] / ɔrˈθɒs tɪ ki /

noun

Botany.

PLURAL

orthostichies

  1. a vertical rank or row.

  2. an arrangement of members, as leaves, at different heights on an axis so that their median planes coincide.

orthostichy British  
/ ɔːˈθɒstɪkɪ /

noun

  1. an imaginary vertical line that connects a row of leaves on a stem

  2. an arrangement of leaves so connected

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • orthostichous adjective

Etymology

Origin of orthostichy

1870–75; ortho- + Greek -stichia alignment, equivalent to stích ( os ) row ( stich 1 ) + -ia -y 3

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.